Done Tom Turkey

I’ve been in network security in a past life.

There’s a balance between complexity (such as passwords) and irritation (like auto locking the desktop). Crank down too hard, and humans start thwarting your efforts. For instance, make the password parameters too tough, and your workers will write it on a sticky, or under their keyboard. So, Windows allows a PIN, like your phone now. For the most part you don’t need the password, a six digit code works. This was nice because the auto lock would happen, and you could rapid fire your code to unlock it.

My work laptop is cranked down so hard, it was barely useable. I’m a good soldier though. I more or less tolerated it.

I logged in Monday and it demanded I change to an 8 digit pin. Lovely. But then, I realized that they cranked down the auto lock to like 5-10 minutes. I literally can’t get up to take a dump or get a refill before the damn thing is locked.

It sucked so much before, I spend most of my day on my personal machine. Most of what I do is on the web anyhow. But the the laptop locked prevents me from seeing chats, or even noticing them. Now, it’s insufferable. I’m done.

So… I got one of these:

Made by Vaydeer, I splurged and bought the slim version.

It’s plugged into my tower.

So what it does, as I have it set, is every three minutes, it moves the disk and makes the mouse move. You can set it at random times as well.

This is life changing. Worth the $20 I spent on it.

And, of course, I lock my machines when I leave the house.